Day 164 Sweating in Barcelona

August 26, 2020August 26, 20207 Comments

Another wild paint along with Vlad. Can’t wait for the next one Sunday. Painting boats. Love boat paintings

10×15″ Kilimanjaro 300#. I decided to use Kilimanjaro to see if it scraped like the nasty arches did.

The Arches scrapes great to do leaves, branches or grass. Maybe it will scrape for boat lines. Or I can use my dads antique arches that’s probably 20 years old. I know it scrapes great.

The photo. Kind of a nothing photo don’t you think except nice sunny light, umbrellas and a beautiful old building.

The value sketch

First wash- the water stage

Colors growing. Aka more first wash. Umbrellas really orange but odd it looks so red in this photo.

The second darker washes more pigment. The tea stage.

The last layers. Lots of milk. Aka thicker paint. I think mine moving be too thick.

And the way it is now. Kinda wishing I had not added the Browns and the grey trees on the left. Sometimes I get up in the morning and like them a lot better. We shall see right?!

Had fun drawing all over it with my white gel pen zip zip and always solid unlike white gouache.

Margaret ready for bed but has to watch one more episode of Schitts creek-my current binge. Soooo funny on Netflix’s. Watch more than one before you pass judgement. Xoxoxox

Day 163 Key West Dreamin

August 25, 2020May 19, 2021Leave a comment

Actually Laguna Beach. Crystal Cove I think. 1/4 sheet Fabriano rough press. If this were key west there would be a chicken or two and maybe a bicycler.Paint along with Vladislav Yesileyev.

Wishing I were walking out these gates to the beach. Reminds me so much of Key West. This Covid needs to go away so we can GO again. I know first world problems. I have to stay home and paint instead of going and painting.

The photo

The value sketch

The drawing.

The first wash. Wild ride getting this done.

Second was. Love the background trees.

Lots of negative painting. That means painting around the shapes to make them pop.

Still needs something. I know. MORE darks and lots of them.

Here it is again done.

Nite nite. Off to bed. Painted til 7 walked two miles. Did the power plate a half an hour. Zzzzzz

another paint along with Vlad tomorrow. Off to Barcelona.

Margaret Xoxoxo

Day 162 Out My back door

August 23, 2020Leave a comment

Scribbling the birds eating and the lush greenery from all the rain.

No pencil in this sketch. Just using the Caran D’ache Neocolor ii crayons which are a lot of fun.

May hit this with water. The colors will really pop but it would loose all the scribbley lines which I like. What to do what to do. Stay tuned.

Caran d’ache Neocolor ii stillman and birn Alpha

Margaret off to Laguna Beach CA to paint with Vlad Yesilesev. You should come too. Get ready for paint to fly. Xoxoxo Have a wonderful Sunday.

Day 159 Bits and bobs

August 21, 2020May 19, 2021Leave a comment

Wish I had taken a pic of Cafe du Monde earlier. I had completely wiped off a lot of the painting with my sea sponge. Kinda like it now. Jury’s still out. From a Paint along with Vladislav Yesileyev

This has been lying around at least a month waiting to be finished. Actually thought I would paint on the back but it’s natural Fabriano. Not a fan of natural so would paint on almost anything white before I would paint on this paper.

Somewhere in Paris is done. Off the board signed. I added a lot of darks behind the vehicles which made them pop out. Best fun still goes to that white gel pen which I also used on the cafe du monde. Another storm line blowing on from Georgia. At least this one didn’t scare Zoe.

Margaret wondering why we keep getting monsoons every nite. Xoxoxo

Day 158 Update

August 19, 2020May 19, 2021Leave a comment

The Finger Lakes Upstate NY

Fabriano 300# rough 15×22″Paint alongs with Vladislav Yesileyev

Done. I lost a lot of whites and can be almost impossible to get back.

Had fun drawing white lines on it with my white pentel gel pen. It easily lays down a really white covering line. If it’s not getting entered in a Watercolor Show doesn’t matter if it’s gouache or gel pen does it?! Yesterday. I added ALOT OF DARKS today and tried to finish the water. A few more windows and darker ones bigger shadows more shadows. Greyes the power pole down. Built a fence and a dock well sort of.

Somewhere in Paris
Fabriano 300# rough 15×22″

Done

Added more darks and some whites with my white pentel gel pen. The darks really make both of the paintings pop don’t you think!??

I think when it comes down to it I just like to draw with something. A pen is good a crayons works so does a dark juicy pencil.

Fabulous clouds tonite.

Margaret xoxoxo

Day 157 The Finger Lakeside

August 19, 2020May 19, 2021Leave a comment

So far. Still needs some more touches here and there and something in the water. But not to bad. It was a wild paint along today with Vlad.

Vlads photo

Vlads value sketch

The sketch with masking fluid applied.

First washes. Water looks really dark until more layers are added.

So many washes so little time.

And once again now. Needs some more darks I think.

Storm rolling in today. Oddly we didn’t get a drop of rain. Certainly looked like it. The sky was really dark inside the house too but nope not today. Just a big tease.

Watching Perry Mason with Matthew Ryhs on HBO. My friends say it is really good.

So far I give it really interesting – reserving judgement. Interestingly enough Perry Mason’s a private detective, John Lithgow is the attorney; and so far, Paul Drake is a cop.

Hmm people are not playing the parts they should be. Margaret Xoxoxox

Day 155 Fly Away to Paris

August 16, 2020May 19, 2021Leave a comment

So far. Think it’s too light but we shall see. The perspective is right but too tired from wild painting with Vlad Yesileyev to get off the sofa and take another one right now.

And now I see the closest car is too small. Sigh. A problem aka how to fix it.

Saying I fixed the car. What a pain. Easier not to mess them up. Cars should be close to as tall as the people. Also added some more darks. And I knocked back my crosswalk which was NOT aim perspective. Maybe I will fix it tomorrow.

Sorry didn’t take a pic of the tape up job on that £!%# car.

Vlads photo somewhere in Paris

Vlads value sketch

The sketch. Maybe my photo skills got lost today.

First washes. Cobalt yellow ochre alizarin and neutral tint.

Building washes still wet. They dried lighter.

Red umbrellas and the balcony done.

And so far. Mom interrupted my painting. Will finish tomorrow.

Margaret taking a rest now. Xoxoxox

Day 150 worse ways to

August 12, 20204 Comments

Spend the pandemic than virtual painting travel with Vlad Yesilesev

St. Martin du Mont

Almost done. Had to put my light pole back in. Oopsey.

Before I scraped the light pole in.

This paper loves to be scraped. Not sure what it is. Thinking 300# Kilimanjaro cold press.

I scratched the pole in with an xacto knife point. Doesn’t leafs work well but this paper loves it. I don’t like the way the same knife acts on Fabriano or arches.

The photo

Vlads value sketch

The sketch which I kept rearranging.

First wash.

Cad yellow and red, cobalt, yellow ochre, burnt sienna, Alizarin with a little dioxzine purple and a grey mix of those. Aka stir up your palette. Some yellow ochre gold.

Orange roofs added. Cad red and yellow

Dark greens added. Neutral tint, yellow, cobalt, and vandyke brown for tree green. Scraped wit a chunk of old credit card. Greys are palette soup.

Windows added. Cad red yellow and dioxzine purple. Cheap Joes turquoise on grey car windows.

Tree alizarin dioxzine purple and neutral tint shadow.

End of class

And now w the light post scraped out.

Zoe guarding my painting.

Back to my scarf. Only about 3 feet long now.

Margaret w her feet up xoxoxo

Day 144 Paris Barges

August 5, 2020May 19, 2021Leave a comment

Nothing better than walking by the Seine in Paris passing the barges under the fabulous bridges, Pont Alexander, and by such landmarks as Les Invalides and my fav – le tour Eiffel aka the Eiffel Tower.

Vlads picture

A wild paintalong with Vlad. I bet his wife, his manager, has to wear track shoes to chase him around.

Vlads value sketch.

Seems I forgot to take a pic of my sketch. This is Vlads.

First wash. Almost done.

And the washes are piling up. Pointy brush w Paris grey to the Eiffel Tower and the Pont Alexander.

Sliding toward home. Pulling the masking off the boat lines and a few other whites I wanted to save.

Going to have to fix these lines now the masking gone. Can’t leave them stark white.

Lines

Looking better. Really need to work on softening my lines.

Calling it quits for tonite.

What a difference a few minutes makes in the sky.

Margaret Xoxoxox

Day 143 Giverny 2

August 4, 2020May 19, 20212 Comments

Notice the numbers have gone down. I counted today exactly 143 days since IT started. I had been using Gov Cuomos count. I guess NY started before Ga.

Today I decided to repaint Giverny on different paper with different paint. Paint along with Vladislav Yesileyev. I spent an hour this am talking to a customer service rep at Cheap Joes. Great guy, very helpful, stuck out in the boonies near Boone NC where Cheap Joes is located. We talked each other’s ears off.

The gist of the conversation was I don’t like my cream colored Fabriano rough because it’s c ream colored. Great paper except it’s NOT white. And it takes the brightness away from the watercolor.

Turns out there is Fabriano rough white. Some is wafting it’s way to me as I type.

So I pulled out that annoying arches 140 block. Did I say it’s bright white. Paper may be rotten but it was the right color.

It was taped up ready to Paint. I also used my Fealing Lin palette full of non Chalky Daniel Smith M Graham and lovely Holbein plus A bit of cheap Joes Andrews turquoise and his alizarin permanent.

I think the whole thing is much brighter due to the white paper and the paint. The bottom one is the one from today. Top is the Fabriano cream w Lukas paint.